Cold worked hollow stem valve



Nov. 26, 1946, J KERwlN ETAL 2,411,734-

COLD WORKED HOLLOW STEM VALVE Original Filed March 11, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 g A; /3 7 /6 v H 2 H A John Mfierw'zln Jarmue HNoron Nov. 26, 1946. I M, R I T AL "2,411,734

COLD WORKED HOLLOW STEM VALVE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 n w W E m NM Samuel Original Filed March 11, 1942 ,11, 1942, now U. s.

'. -.A further object of Patented Nov. 26, 1946 PATENT OFFICE 2,411,734 COLD WORKED HOLLOW STEM VALVE John M. Kerwin-and Samuel H. Norton, Cleveland, Ohio, assignors Inc., Cleveland, Ohio,

Original application March 1-1, 1942,

Divided and this application August to Thompson Products, a corporation of Ohio Serial .No.

2, 1944, Serial No. 547,672

6'Claims.

This invention relates to the production of hollow stemmed poppet valves having cold worked stems of enhanced tensile strength.

More specifically the invention relates to the production of hollow poppet valves having cold .5

worked internally ribbed stems.

This application is a division of our copending application, Serial No. 434,237, filed March Patent 2,367,783 granted January 23, 1945. V

Hollow poppet valves are subjected, in operation, to severe tensile stresses and any circumferentially extending scratches in the hollow valve stem are very dangerous becausetheycan readily form loci for fatigue cracks. Since it is highly desirable to decrease the weight of a hollow valve as muchas possible, thin stem walls are used. These stem walls, nevertheless, must be capable of resisting the heavy tensile loads applied thereon, and it is an important feature of this invention to increase the strength of hol- .low valvestems by cold working. The stems can 'be internally ribbed during the cold working operation. The ribs extend longitudinallyof the stem and obliterate or at least break up any circumferential scratches in the stem wall.

Cold working the valve stem "metal will increase the tensile strength of the metal and the simultaneous internal ribbing of the stem will further increase its tensile strength. The ribs,- in addition, serve as cooling fins to dissipate heat from the coolant in the hollow valve through the stem wall.

Thus the dangerous scratches and cracks are removed, a higher rate of heat transfer is obtained, thin stem wallscan be used, and the .metallurgical properties of the metal are improved. i

.It is, therefore, an object of this invention to ,provide a hollow 1 stemmed poppet valve with an internally ribbed stem.

this invention is to provide hollow stemmed poppet valves having cold worked internally ribbed stems.

'A still further object of this invention is to strengthen hollow poppet valves by cold working the same around a mandrel.

Another object of the invention is to improve the metallurgical characteristics of the metal in hollow valve stems by hammering the metal around a fluted mandrel inserted in thevalve stem.

a relatively thin walled hollow stem of increased strength. i Other and further objects of .the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the annexed sheets of drawings which, by way of preferred examples, illustratesseveral embodiments of the invention. On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view of hammer dies for acting on 11 inserted valve blank in accordance with this invention. V

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view along the line II-II of Figure 1, illustrating the start of the hammering operation.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure .2 illustrating the completion of the hammering operation.

, Figure 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a hollow poppet valve blank made in accordance with this invention.

' Figure 5 is an enlarged transverse cross-sectional view along the line .V-Vfof Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 but illus- .25 trating another form of internally ribbed valve stem in accordance ,with this invention.

, Figure 7 is a view similar to Figures 5 and 6, but illustrating a smooth continuous internal surface on the valve stem produced by coldworking the stem around a smooth, polished mandrel in accordance with a still further modified embodiment of the invention.

Figure 8 is, a view similar to Figures 2 and '3 but illustrating the hammering of the stem of a 5 valve body having a nubbin end whereby the stem .is cold worked from the valve neck to the nubbin only.

Figure9 is a view similar to Figure 8 but illustratingthe hammering of the nubbin end of the 40 stem around a tapered pin to cold work the nubbin. I

. Figure 10 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view are. coolant filled and plugged valve made from a, valve body that has been cold worked accord-- ing to the process illustrated in Figures 8 and 9. Figure 11 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a coolant filled and sealed valve made by inwardly collapsing he nubbin of a valve body that has been cold-worked as in Figure .8 and illustrating the nubbin in dotted lines.

As shown on the-drawings: .In Figures 1 .to 3 the reference character .19

alstem Nib, and-an outwardly the stem andhead. The

having a head 10a, flaring neck lflc joining The blank It is acted on by a pair of hammer dies l3. and M- which are mounted in poweroperated hammer holders l5.and l6 respectively.

The dies I3 and hi cooperate to form a throat I! for receiving the neck illc of the blank. This throat I1 converges inwardly to a cylindrical inner surface l8 which envelopes the stem lb of the blank and has a smaller diameter than the initial diameter of the stem when the dies are fully closed. The diesv are then relieved as at l9 so that metal can flow from the cylindrical portion into the relieved portion and the die thus has an active cylindrical surface l8 for cold working the metal of the stem 10b.

The stem lilb, as pointed out above, has an internal cylindrical hole or bore l2 therethrough. In accordance with this invention a mandrel 20 is inserted in the bore l2. This mandrel 20 has longitudinally extending circumferentially spaced flutes Zl'ia alternating with longitudinally extending ribs 2%. The outer diameter of the mandrel is such that it snugly engages the internal wall of the valve blank. The mandrel 20 can have an enlarged knurled knob 2| at the end thereof to facilitate insertion and removal of the mandrel into and out of the valve stem.

The valve blank ill, with the mandrel inserted therein as shown in Figure 2, is placed between the dies l3 and M with the neck H30 thereof resting on the die seat H. The dies are then reciprocated to hammer the valve stem lflb. The valve can be rotated in the dies during the hammering process or, alternatively of course, the dies could be rotated around the valve.

The cylindrical working surface of the dies thins down the valve stem Hlb as illustrated at 22 and presses the stem around the mandrel so that the interior wall thereof will enter the flutes 20a of the mandrel thereby forming longitudinal ribs on the interior wall of the stem.

The entire length of the stem lilb is hammered by movement of the valve during the hammering operation away from the seat I! as illustrated in Figure 3. Alternately, of course, the dies could be moved downwardly along the valve stem.

The hammering operation is effected at temperatures below the recrystallization range of the valve metal. Preferably the hammering is effected when the valve blank is at room tem-- peratures and after the blank has been sufficiently formed so that it need not again be reheated to forging temperatures. As a result the valve stem Ilib is thinned down and cold worked.

Upon completion of the hammering along the entire length of the valve stem Illb the mandrel 2G is removed from the stem and a valve blank 25 shown in Figure 4 is produced. The valve blank 2'5 has a cold worked stem 26 with a relatively thin wall. The interior of the stem 26 has longitudinally extending ribs 26a best shown in Figure 5. These ribs 25a alternate with grooves or serrations 2%. I p

The longitudinally extending ribs Zfidmate- ,rially strengthen the stem wall and, at the same time, act as cooling fins for dispersing heat from coolant which is sealed in the hollow valve upon completing the production of a valve from the blank 25. Cooling material such as sodium is inserted into the hollow valve and the end of the valve stem is sealed by welding on a plug or a cap (not shown).

If desired the valve body l can have the stem [0b thereof formed with an enlarged nubbin end I M as shown in Figures 8 and 9 which is capable of being inwardly deformed to coopershown in Figure 10, or

ate with a closure pin for plugging the valve as is capable of being inwardly collapsed to seal the valve as shown in Figure 11.

As shown in Figure 8 the valve stem I 0b is cold hammered around a ribbed mandrel 20 by the dies l3 and M to thin down the stem as at 22 in the same manner described in connection with Figures 2 and 3. However the hammering is notpermitted to progress to the end of the valve stem but is stopped at the nubbin as shown in the dotted line position of the dies. The stem lilb is thus cold Worked from the neck 10a to the nubbin lfid.

As also shown in Figure 8, the mandrel 20 can have a tapered ribbed end 20c fitting into the throat portion of the valve body between the head cavity H and the stem hole 12. This permits the formation of a tapered ribbed throat IZ'a in the valve. The throat defining wall, due to the tapered throat, is somewhat thicker than the walls of the valve stem proper.

After cold working the stem down to the nubbin IBd as shown in Figure 8, the nubbin is next cold worked around a tapered pin 21 by a pair of hammer dies 28 and 29 carried in power holders 30 and 3| as illustrated in Figure 9. The pin 21 is preferably not ribbed but has a smooth continuous tapered surface of circular cross section for shaping a smooth tapered hole 32 through the nubbin with the small end of the hole entering the larger and ribbed stem hole 12. The hammer dies 28 and 29 work down the nubbin 33 to a smaller diameter and collapse the nubbin inwardly around the pin. The hammering is effected along the entire length of the nubbin and the finished cold worked nubbin thus has a tapered hole 32 therethrough of lesser diameter than the hole [2 of the valve stem. The outside diameter of the cold Worked and partially collapsed nubbin may be larger than the outside diameter of the stem but it is reduced to stem size by grinding. A valve spring retainer groove 34 (Figure 10) can also be ground or cut into the cold worked and ground nubbin end of the stem. I

A finished valve 25a is made from the cold worked tapered hole nubbin type of valve body by grinding and polishing the body to size, by inserting a coolant C such as sodium, into the head and steam cavities, and by driving a tapered sealing pin 35 into the hole 32. The pin 35 can have a head 35a forming the bottom of the valve stem.

Instead of cold working the nubbin 10d around a tapered pin 27, a valve 25b as shown in Figure 11 can be made from a nubbin type of valve'body by hammering the nubbin llJd completely shut after the coolant C has been inserted into the body provided that the valve metal is suificiently workable to permit complete collapsing of the nubbin. This will form a solid sealed end 36 on the valve stem.

The grooves 261) between the ribs 26a of the valves 25, 25a and 25b serve to break up any circumferentially extending defects in the interior of the stem. For example, even though the bore l2 of the blank I0 is carefully polished, some circumferentially extending scratches may remain in the interior stem wall. These scratches because they form loci for fatigue cracks when the valve is subjected'to heavy tension loads as in operation. By pressing the stem around the fluted mandrel these scratches are either completely worked out of the metal or at least are broken up into short lengths because they never extend as deep as the grooves 25b and these grooves will thus divide the scratches. Any remaining short scratches are relatively unobjectionable.

The longitudinally extending flutes and ribs of the mandrel can have many forms and configurations. For example, as shown in Figure 6, the mandrel could be so shaped as to form more pronounced ribs 260 in the interior wall of the stem separated by rounded flutes 2601.

In still another embodiment of the invention the mandrel as can have a smooth, continuous polished cylindrical surface which will form a smooth, continuous, cylindrical surface 2'66 in the interior of the stem as shown in Figure '7.

In all embodiments of the'invention the valve stem is cold-worked around a mandrel to improve the metallurgical characteristics of the stem metal. In the preferred embodiments of the invention the interior surface of the valve stem is internally ribbed during the cold-working operation.

In all embodiments of the invention, however, the poppet valves have materially strengthened hollow stems.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a Wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherare highly dangerous grooves and ribs,

Wise than necessitated by the scope of ly ribbed interior hollow stem Wall, said interior stem wall having the ribs thereof separated by longitudinally extending grooves, said ribs adapted to act as cooling fins for dispersing heat.

3. A poppet valve having an enlarged head with a mushroom-shaped cavity therein, a converging neck portion, and a hollow cylindrical stem extending from the small end of the neck portion, said stem having an internal cavity along the length thereof communicating with the head cavity and reinforcing longitudinally extending ribs along the length of the stem cavity.

l. -A hollow stemmed poppet valve having a reinforced unitary inner stem wall with alternate longitudinal extending grooves and inwardly extending cold worked ribs.

5. A hollow stemmed poppet valve having a reinforced longitudinally ribbed inner stem wall, said longitudinal ribs being adapted to act as cooling fins for dispersing heat.

6. A pop-pet valve having a cold worked hollow stem, said hollow stern having inwardly protruding deformations on its inner wall, said deformations being alternate longitudinal extending aid grooves and ribs adapted to reinforce the stem and being adapted to act as cooling fins for dispersing heat away from the head of the poppetvalve.

JOHN M. KERWIN. SAMUEL I-l'. NORTON. 

